Today I watched another TED talk by Phyllis Rodriguez and Aisha el-Wafi titled 9/11 healing: The mothers who found forgiveness, friendship. In the TED talk the two women told the story of how that had met and developed t heir unusual friendship. Phyllis Rodriguez’s son was in the World Trade Center on the morning of 9/11, but they did not know his fate until 36 hours later. She reflects on that time and explains that through that shock and explosion, she and her husband and their family, weren’t vengeful. Aisha El-Wafi’s son Zacarias Moussaoui was indicted on six counts of conspiracy to commit terrorism, US government called for a death penalty against him if convicted. When her son was indicted, Aisha came over to the united states, and Phyllis thought to herself what a brave woman Aisha must be, and how someday, she wants to meet her, but she knew that she wasn’t yet strong enough. Phyllis and her husband then spoke out against the execution of Zacarias publicly. Through that event and through human rights groups, Aisha and Phyllis finally got to meet. Phyllis’s heart went out to Aisha because When people learned that Phyllis’s son had died, she got instant sympathy, but when people learned of what Aisha had been convicted of, she didn’t get that same sympathy, and Phyllis know that both woman had suffered equally.
Aisha then told shared her back story with the audience, she was forced to be married at 14, lost a child at 15, lost another child at 16, so when she heard about Zacarias, it was too much for her. What was even more difficult was that unlike Phyllis who knew where her son was, Aisha had know idea if her son was alive, if he was tortured, she didn’t know where he was, or what had happened to him. Aisha wants to share her story so that her suffering is something positive for women. She says “ for all the women and mothers that give life, we can give back, we can change, its up to us women, because we are women, because we love our children. We must be hand in hand and d something together, its not against women, its for us and for our children. ” This is why Aisha speaks out against violence and terrorism, and also she goes to schools to talk to you Muslim girl so that they don’t accept to be married against her will. She says that if she can save one of the young girls, and have them avoid getting married young against there will in a forced marriage so that they don’t suffer like she did, than that is a good thing. After hearing Aisha’s story, Phyllis was amazed that a women could be so generous under the present circumstances and what was being done to her son, and in addition to the fact that she had already been through so much already.
Aisha had asked the human rights organization to be put in touch with the families of the victims, and when the families met with her, Aisha could tell that Phyllis was the only mother in the group, she says “I could see in her eyes that she was a mother just like me.” This was also a meeting for all of the families that had lost someone in the 9/11 attack. They all sat in a circle with support from people who were experienced in that type of reconciliation and shared their stories. They were all nervous because the families wanted to know why Aisha wanted to meet them, and Aisha wanted to know why did they want to meet her. This is when Aisha spoke, and she said Aisha spoke first and said “I don’t know if my son is guilty or innocent, but I want to tell you how sorry I am for what happened to your families. I know what it is to suffer, and I feel that if there is a crime that the person should be tried fairly and punished.” This served as almost an ice breaker for the group, and after they shared their stories they realized that they all connected as human beings, who felt as if they had known each other forever. Aisha ended that speech saying that she “we have to try to know other people. You have to be generous in your heart, in your mind, you must be tolerant. You have to fight against violence, and I hope that someday we will all live together in peace, and respect each other.”
The speaking style during the TED talk was a lot different from any of the other styles in the previous TED talks. This talk was more of sharing a story as apposed to introducing a new product, or introducing a new concept or way of thinking. Their TED talk seemed more intimate, and seeing both of them start crying at the end was quite a powerful experience. Both of those women lost so much in that 9/11 attack, and it was very astonishing that those two people could become friends. They were very accurate when they described their friendship as unusual. The two women don’t even speak the same language, yet they share a bond that is so strong it knows no language barriers.
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